Men's Basketball | 11/19/2015 8:46:00 AM

ELLENSBURG, Wash (Nov. 17) – The Central Washington University men's basketball team is preparing for a pair of games set to be played in Seattle, WA on the campus of Seattle Pacific University this weekend beginning with a match up on Friday, Nov 20 versus Hawaii Hilo University followed by a game Saturday, Nov. 21 versus BYU-Hawaii.
 
The Wildcats are looking to build on their 94-82 win over Simon Fraser University last Saturday (Nov 14.). The Wildcats are currently 1-0, 0-0 early in the 2015-16 season.
 
"Good first road trip for us, I thought our guys did a nice job building the lead," Head coach Greg Sparling said. "But [SFU] cut into our lead and our guys did a good job making baskets and holding them off. It was a good contest for us."
 
Joseph Stroud led the Wildcats with 22 points shooting 8-for-13 on the afternoon. The 6-foot-8 post snagged seven rebounds in the win while rejecting four shots. Aiding Stroud in the winning effort was point guard Devin Matthews. Matthews was thrusted into the lead guard position after a season-ending injury left Marc Rodgers sidelined. Matthews totaled 19 points, while dishing out seven assists and collected nine rebounds.
 
Swingman Gary Jacobs pitched in with 17 points and six rebounds in the win.
 
Scouting Hawaii Hilo
"I think it'll be a good test for us," Sparling said of Hawaii Hilo. "They took Montana State to a five point game.  It's going to be a good game. We're getting better every day, but we have to understand that this is a long season and it's all about building. Hawaii Hilo will be a good game towards that goal."
 
Hawaii Hilo is looking to rebound after its 90-85 season-opening loss to Montana State University last weekend. The game will be somewhat of a reunion as Hawaii Hilo is coached by former Wildcat assistant coach GE Coleman. Three former Wildcat players litter the Vulcans roster. Chris Holmes played for the Wildcats during the 2012-13 season. Holmes scored 16 points for the Vulcans in their first loss of the season.  Nate Walker (2011-13) and Jordan Russell (2012-14) are also former Wildcats who transferred to Hilo this past season.
 
 Parker Farris led Hawaii Hilo in scoring with 29 points last game. The Vulcans shot 48.4-percent from the field (30-62) and connected with 12 three-point shots.
 
Scouting BYU-Hawaii
The BYU-Hawaii notched its first win of the season on the road against Western Washington Wednesday night by a score of 93-80.  BYU-Hawaii shot 59-percent from the field against WWU, and made 16 of 19 of their attempts from the free throw line.  Ian Harward who scored 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds led the Seasiders.

"BYU-Hawaii is a very tough and well coached team.  They are big and can rebound the ball well, which they proved last night defeating Western Washington," CWU Head Coach Greg Sparling said.  "We will need to get on the boards and limit thier second chance points and put up a strong effort defensively to give ourselves the best chance to win."
 
The Seasiders lost its first contest to Long Beach State, losing 91-57. Justin Yamzon proved to be the Seasiders biggest weapon. The guard scored 20 points in the loss, shooting 4-10 from the three-point line. BYU-Hawaii will look to post a better shooting percentage this weekend as the team shot just 27.9-percent from the field.
 
The Wildcats will take the floor at 4:30 p.m. on Friday versus Hawaii Hilo and 12:30 on Saturday versus BYU-Hawaii. Turn to Wildcatsports.com for live stream coverage of both games.
 
"Our goal this weekend is to get better and keep improving," Sparling added. "We are getting ready for GNAC conference play. We are playing some quality opponents this weekend and hopefully we can come out of there on Saturday and say 'we have improved."